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The official unemployment rate increased by 0.5% to 27.2% in the second quarter of 2018, up from 26.7% in the first three months of the year. Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke released the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for April, May and June in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The increase in the unemployment rate was due to a decline of 90 000 people in employment

President Cyril Ramaphosa said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin accepted that South Africa’s economic condition won’t allow Pretoria to sign a nuclear deal, when the leaders held bilateral talks on the side lines of the Brics Summit on Thursday. Addressing reporters on Friday at the end of the three day gathering in Sandton, Ramaphosa confirmed

Global paper and packaging giant Sappi [JSE:SAP] has thrown its weight behind President Cyril Ramaphosa's $100bn investment drive by announcing a R7.5bn investment in the KwaZulu-Natal economy over the next five years. The JSE-listed company said its investments in its Saiccor Mill in Umkomaas include a R2.7bn capacity expansion project and a planned

Nedbank Group said first-half earnings rose between 23% and 28% from a year ago after Ecobank Transnational, the African lender in which it holds a 20% stake, returned to profit. Earnings per share excluding one-time items increased to between R13.51 and R14.05 in the six months through June from R10.98 a year earlier, Johannesburg-based Nedbank said in a statement

European Union judges have ruled that the four-fingered shape of the KitKat chocolate bar is not distinctive enough to be trademarked. KitKat maker Nestle, the food multinational, has been trying since 2002 to establish a European trademark for the snack. But the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Wednesday ruled against it.
That will come as a relief

Brussels - European Union anti-trust authorities on Tuesday slapped multi-million euro fines on consumer electronics firms from Japan, Taiwan and the Netherlands for fixing prices for online retailers. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, imposed fines totalling more than 111 million euros on Asus of Taiwan, Philips of the Netherlands as well as on Pioneer

US companies and industry groups are returning to Washington this week in an increasingly futile effort to get relief from President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports. More than 80 witnesses are scheduled to testify during the two-day hearing starting on Tuesday on the $16bn (approx. R217bn) in Chinese goods targeted for 25% duties, which could

South African Airways has denied that it has discussed with certain other airlines the possibility of investing in the state-owned airline as part of a process to find a strategic equity partner. Responding to weekend reports, SAA said in a statement that it had, however, met with Emirates, Turkish Airways, Qatar Airways, Kenya Airways, Air Mauritius

Mobile services operator Vodacom on Tuesday said it increased group data revenue by 9.6% in the quarter to end-June 2018 on the back of increased customer numbers. The group said in a trade update that it added 2.5 million customers - 1.5 million in South Africa and 1.0 million in its International operations - to reach 76.5 million. This excludes Safricom

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi should withdraw the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill, until the Competition Commission finalises the Health Market Inquiry, according to Andre Jacobs, an executive at ASI Financial Services. There are currently three key documents affecting the healthcare sector in South Africa, the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill and the Medical